Violet from The Joy of Cats

Violet went from stray cat to house cat! We rescued her and her 5 kittens from our yard.

Violets's Details

Weight: 11 lbs

Gender: Female

Coloring: Mostly gray

Birth Date: Unknown, possibly in 2012 or 2013

Relationships: Mother of Jake and Elwood

Nicknames: My little Violet, my little stalker

Favorite Human: Not a strong preference, however she follows Heidi around more than Ted

Health Issues: Too much wet cat food gives her the runs!

Other Buster

Like Buster, Violet came to us from the yard. To tell the story of how Violet came to us, the story of Other Buster must be told first.

When we brought in Buster, we had been seeing another cat with similar coloring as Buster (they may have been siblings). In the summer of 2012, we started to see him on a regular basis.That summer was very hot.

We started putting out water for him (very possible that this cat was female but we called it a he). He didn't want anything to do with us. He was also ear tipped, like Buster.

By the time fall came around of that year, I convinced Ted to build him a cat house. And we began to feed him too. I was starting to get attached.

Since he looked like Buster, we started calling him "Other Buster". In the winter of 2013 (which was very cold and snowy) we built a makeshift structure with hay and a tarp for him and any other stray cats on our deck.

It was bigger and warmer than the cat house, which doesn't have two entrances as we didn't know anything about feral cats and the best ways to help them back then.

The last time we saw Other Buster was 2/22/2014. There were 2 other cats in the straw "fort" that morning. I would like to believe he was either chased out of the area by another cat or was friends with other humans that took him in. But he may have met an unfortunate end.

Violet's story

We continued to put out food hoping Other Buster would come back (at first we didn't know he was "gone" as sometimes a week passed in between sightings and the food was being consumed). And that is what led Violet to us.

We began seeing a little gray cat consistently that spring. Based on some Facebook memories, we may have started seeing her for the first time in July 2013.

On my birthday in July 2014, she showed up with 5 kittens! All that time we had been feeding her, we didn't know she was pregnant! The food we were providing likely give her the nutrition to have healthy kittens. She was thin enough as it was.

That was an exciting summer! I contacted the local humane society and the were not able to take the kittens or Violet because they were considered feral. We think Violet was likely abandoned as she was somewhat friendly and would eventually approach me.

I decided the best course of action was to socialize the kittens. I started putting more food at for Mom Cat. She was a very good mother! I was very thankful that she fed them and we didn't need to bottle fed them.

Before the kittens were discovered, she was referred to as the gray cat. After the kittens her name was Mom Cat. Now we usually call her Violet.

I named Violet after my favorite color as calling her Violet seemed better than calling her Purple.

Violet is a gentle with the other cats, but a bit more picky with humans. She let me give her post surgery meds after she was spayed without any issues.

We had her in the house for about 6 months before she purred. She didn't want us to hold her or pet her, at first, and still doesn't want to be a lap cat. I am working on it!

When Jake or Elwood move to her food bowl (we give them wet food every morning) she moves aside. She also lets them steal her treats.

The scar on her nose, which can be seen in picture, was there when we found her. Since its been there for over 2 years, it seems to be permanent. ​The cause of the scar is unknown.

Violet also seemed to challenge her for the alpha cat position (there were many stare downs). Currently, they don't cuddle together but have mostly stopped hissing at each other.